*Georgia State was defeated 4-0 by No. 7 Georgia Friday afternoon in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

*Senior Kristin Rehse won the first set over No. 12 Katarina Jokic in singles play.

*The Panthers finish the season with a 12-15 record, and as Sun Belt Champions for the third time in five years.

ATLANTA- Georgia State women’s tennis fell 4-0 to the No. 7 Georgia Bulldogs in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon. The Panthers finish the season with a 12-15 final record.

Jason Marshall’s team was in an immediate 2-0 hole due to injuries, and GSU was never able to overcome the early deficit despite playing close with one of the top teams in the nation.

The Panthers fell behind 3-0 after dropping the doubles point. Georgia bested GSU 6-2 on court one to clinch the portion of the match. The Bulldogs had a built in 1-0 advantage in doubles play due to a walkover win on court three.

State battled on court two as Daniela Ramirez and Damira Muminović were tied 4-4 with No. 26 Katarina Jokic and Marina Gould when the point was cliched. GSU would continue to fight, giving the Bulldogs all they could handle in the singles portion of the match.

Sun Belt Player of the Year, Kristin Rehse earned a 6-4 first set victory over No. 12 Katarina Jokic. The second set went unfinished, as Georgia clinched the match partway through.

Lara Vovk pushed her opponent in the first set on court four, ultimately falling 7-5 to Elena Christofi. Ramirez went toe to toe with No. 75 Kennedy Shaffer, winning multiple games each set off the four-time All-SEC player.

The Bulldogs would clinch the match via a straight set victory on court three. Damira Muminović dropped the first set 6-2, before rallying for a closely contested 7-5 loss in the second.

“It was a great experience to play in a facility like this, against one of the top teams in the nation”, said Marshall. “I could not be prouder of how we hard we fought. There is a reason Georgia is a national seed, and we pushed this match farther than many people probably thought it would go.”

“Being down 2-0 before the match, and playing with only four girls is tough”, Marshall continued. “It really is amazing how our team came together, and that was shown in the quality of tennis we played today.”